4. Leadbelly, serving a prison sentence for murder at the Texas state prison in Huntsville, wrote a song asking Governor Pat Neff to pardon him. Neff granted the request.

5. Chuck Berry played shows with local musicians provided by the venue. A young Bruce Springsteen was one such musician.

6. Louis Armstrong was given his first instrument—a cornet—by a Lithuanian-Jewish family for which he worked for as a youth in New Orleans. Armstrong wore a Star of David and ate matzoh for the rest of his life.